Cojuangco to Rappler: Unfair to drag NPC in Balolong’s Killing

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

URBIZTONDO – The provincial chairman of the dominant political party’s Nationalist People’s Coalition in Pangasinan assailed the insinuation of an internet based news outlet that the party has something to do with the death of this town’s mayor.

Tête-à-Tête.  Former Congressman Mark Cojuangco, 
the chair  of the dominant party NPC in a tête-à-tête 
recently with the chief of police Senior Inspector Michael
 Bautista of Urbiztondo, Pangasinan.

“At nag-ta-take exception po ako tulad ng Rappler(.com) insinuate na may kinalaman ang NPC sa nangyari. Kasi daw ang vice mayor dito ay NPC. E kung napag-aralan nila ang local pulitika  ang tatay ng  vice mayor e nag-resigned sa NPC about two weeks ago.  Formality lang po ang pagka NPC nitong vice mayor,”
The vice mayor that Cojuangco referred is the incumbent newly assumed Mayor Martin Raul Sison II in lieu of the assassinated Mayor Ernesto Balolong.
The father, the former congressman pointed-out was Board Member, is Raul Sison who jumped ship in May 7, together with four members of the provincial board, from the party Cojuangco chaired.
The families of Sison and Balolong have been a bitter political rival in the rambunctious politics of this 3rd class town.
Sison and his mother were political rivals of the Balolongs in the May 2013 municipal election.
Balolong was pitted with Martin’s mother, while Martin and Merla, the wife of Balolong, contested the vice mayoralty post.
Balolong won but his wife lost in that contest.
But the rivalry did not stop in the May 2013 derby, the older Sison and Merla clashed for the chairmanship of Barangay Poblacion in the village polls in October of that year.
Merla is now the president of the Liga ng mga Barangays of this town where she represented the village chairmen as ex-oficio councilor at the Sanggunian Bayan while his councilor-son Voltaire is a regular member of the August Body.
According to newly assumed Vice Mayor Vicente Frias, Jr. after Sison became mayor by operation of law he left one ally in the Sanggunian Bayan (council).
“Most of the members of the council are allied with the Balolongs,” he told this paper.
The late mayor, a party mate of President Benigno C. Aquino III is known to have a close ties with the latter.
He narrated in this paper before that he used to work in the security agency of President Aquino as one of its supervisors in the late 1980s.

In the barangay election, Sison’s wife again ran for barangay chairmanship of Barangay Poblacion here but lost to Merla Balolong - the wife of the mayor.
Cojuangco said incase the new town mayor has any participation in the murder the NPC could not accept it.
“Kung malaman po namin na somehow may kinalaman sa pangyayaring ito, hindi matatangap ng partido”.
In the June 9 interview by reporters at the Sanggunian Panlalawigan (provincial board) in Lingayen, Pangasinan, Second District Board Member Sison said even if his son Raul Martin Sison  became the  vice mayor of this town and will succeed as mayor he can swear that the Sison family had nothing to do with the murder.
Cojuangco exhorted the government to use all the full power from its disposal to bring to justice the perpetrator of the dastardly acts.
The former solon said he vigorously condemned the mastermind of the slaying of the hizzoner.
“Dapat po tayong matuto na pag meron po tayong pagkasunduan sa ating demokrasya ang panahon para ma settle ang ating disagreement ay sa mapayapang paraan ng election”.
Cojuangco  was in this rustic town, as godfather to the wedding of Balolong’s son Voltaire, a day after the former mayor was killed near his house by automatic rifles wielding assailants who escaped through a black Toyota Innova van.